Word 97 offers a better solution. It lets you add the characters you use frequently to Word's menus. You can create entries for a handful of characters, or you can include a full set. You can even tack on other symbolic characters by following the same instructions:

1. In a blank document, select ToolsûCustomize. In the Customize dialogue box, click the Commands tab; then scroll down the Categories list and select New Menu. Click and hold on the New Menu entry in the Commands list, then drag the mouse up to the menu bar in Word. I suggest dragging it to the Insert menu command. This will make the Insert menu drop down. Drag down through the menu until the line representing the insertion point is positioned where you want to insert the new menu command; then release the mouse button. Your new item will appear in the menu.

2. Back in the Customize dialogue box, click Modify Selection, replace the text in the Name box on the menu with International Characters, and press <Enter>. Click Insert on the menu to close it.

3. In the Customize dialogue box, select All Commands in the Categories list; then select Symbol in the Commands list.

4. Click and hold on Symbol in the Commands list, and drag the new mouse pointer up to the Insert menu, down to the new International Characters menu item, and into the box that appears to the right of that item. In the resulting Symbols dialogue box (you may have to drag it to the right to see all of it), select (normal text) from the top of the Font drop-down list, click on the character you want to add to the submenu, and click OK. The ANSI character code of the symbol will appear in the submenu. Click Modify Selection in the Customize dialogue box. Select everything in the Name field of the pop-up menu. Next, hold down the <Alt> key and, using the number pad, type a 0 (zero) plus the three-digit ANSI code. Release the <Alt> key and press <Enter> to insert the character into the menu. Repeat this step for any other characters you wish to add. When you're finished, close the Customize dialogue box. Word will save your new menu in normal.dot, making it available in all documents.

5. To use your new commands, select InsertûInternational Characters, and select a character.

Note: if you make a mistake while working with Word's menus, you can simply drag the erroneous menu command off the menu and drop it on the document window, as long as the Customize dialogue box is visible.

The file intchars.dot, which contains a complete set of international characters, is available on our cover CD.